Transformers Prime: Dawn of the Dinobots REMAKE
by Bigby the Big Bad Wolf
Summary: The war has ended, Megatron is dead, and Cybertron has been restored. Team Prime has returned to Cybertron to begin rebuilding. But just because the war is over, doesn't mean their troubles are. And they learn that Cybertron was not as deserted as they thought it was.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime.**

**Here, Transformers fans, here's the moment you've been waiting for. The remake to Transformer Prime: Dawn of the Dinobots. As you can see, there is going to be a lot of changes in this one. In the remake, the story takes place after the events of the TV show. Since the upcoming movie, Predacon Rising, isn't out yet, I haven't decided if I'll use it or not. Also, I learned the Beast Hunters comics (Which focus on the Dinobots' adventures on Cybertron) will possibly feature the Dinobots meeting Team Prime. So, I guess you could consider my story an AU version of it. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy the remake.**

**Prologue: Homecoming**

Optimus gazed upon Cybertron in all its glory. It was hard to believe that after all this time, their world was finally restored.

But there could be no rest. Not yet. Though Cybertron was alive again, it was in need of repair. Optimus hoped to contact all Autobots among the stars to let them know that they could finally come home.

"It's…so strange," Bulkhead said quietly as he looked around. "We're finally home. To stay."

"Yeah," Arcee said absentmindedly.

"Still," Bumblebee, glad he could finally talk again, added. "What was that Earth saying? 'Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home'?"

Optimus knew that his teammates missed their human companions despite having just said their good-byes. The Prime hoped that he could establish a communications link between Earth and Cybertron to allow them to talk to each other when they got the chance. Perhaps, in due time, he would even modify the space bridge to allow them travel to Earth whenever they felt like visiting. Just because they had left Earth didn't mean they would never see their friends again.

"So what do we do first?" Smokescreen asked the group.

"We shall make our way to Iacon," Optimus said. "There, we shall begin repair on the communications system. We must let our fellow Autobots know that they can finally return."

The Autobots nodded at their leader's orders. It would be good to see more Autobots again.

Ultra Magnus was lost in thought, something rather unbecoming of the no-nonsense, uptight warrior. But Magnus had left some men behind on Cybertron. Good men. And he hoped to find them again.

* * *

But unknown to the team, they were being watched. A large, bird-like mech was watching them cautiously. But once his optics landed on Optimus, he gave out a squawk of surprise from his pointed beak. He knew what he had to do. He had to get back to his leader.

* * *

Grimlock: Formerly a gladiator, now a fierce Autobot warrior. His strength and cunning was matched only by his arrogance and insubordination. He and Optimus never really saw optic to optic, but when the chips were down, Grimlock could always be counted on. He was the commander of a close-knit but powerful strike team formerly known as the Lightning Strike Coalition Force, now calling themselves the Dinobots. Aside from him, there were four other members and that was more than enough. Together, they did the missions too tough or too dirty for regular Autobots and were greatly respected and feared by Autobot and Decepticon alike.

When Cybertron came back online, Grimlock didn't jump or holler for joy like those around him were. Instead, he sent Swoop, the team's flyer and scout, to see if he could find anything. He had been gone for a while now. The Dinobot leader was beginning to worry when…

"Grimlock!" Grimlock turned his head to see Swoop flying towards him and the gathered survivors. "Grimlock! You won't believe it!"

"What is it, Swoop?" Grimlock asked, annoyed that his teammate was being so loud. The last thing they needed was drawing any of Shockwave's forces on them.

"You will not believe what I just saw!" Swoop said excitedly as he landed and changed into his robot mode. "Ultra Magnus is back! And you'll never guess who he's with!"

"Who, Optimus Prime?" Slag, the combat tactician, asked jokingly.

"Exactly!" Swoop exclaimed.

The gathered Autobots all stood in silent shock at Swoop's words. Slag's mouth hung open, not expecting his joke answer to be the actual answer. Grimlock's visor glowed.

"Optimus?" He asked. "You saw him with your own optics?"

"Oh, you bet!" Swoop grinned. "He looks different now but that was definitely him! Optimus Prime is back!"

The other Autobots started whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Optimus Prime had returned to them! Grimlock heard them already start crediting the Autobot leader with the restoration of Cybertron. Typical, something good happens and everyone immediately assumes Optimus is the one responsible.

"And they had some other bots with them," Swoop went on. "Magnus had two of his Wreckers with him; Wheeljack and Bulkhead."

"I remember those guys," Sludge, the logistics expert, smiled. The Wreckers were a group after the Dinobots' own spark. Fierce and reckless fighters. Unfortunately, they were also known to have a high casualty rate in comparison.

"And Bumblebee was there too," Swoop added. "And he's talking again!"

"His voice box finally got fixed?" Snarl, the engineer/medic, asked. He remembered Bumblebee. Had a lot of spunk and determination, that bot did. Snarl actually felt bad when the poor scout lost his voice. He didn't think the brave fella deserved such a fate. Maybe a motor-mouth like Blurr or a loud-mouth like Blaster sure, but definitely not Bumblebee.

"There was some other bot I didn't recognize and then…" Swoop sighed dreamily. "There was this gorgeous femme with them." He made an hourglass shape with his hands. "Curves in all the right places, Legs that went for miles…"

"Anything else, Swoop?" Grimlock asked impatiently.

Swoop grinned. "Yeah, she had the most perfect aft."

Grimlock groaned. "Not the femme! Optimus! Where is he?!"

"Oh, right," Swoop chuckled sheepishly. "They're heading for Iacon. Something about setting up communications. "

"They might be trying to contact all the Autobots that left Cybetron," Sludge figured. "Telling them that the planet's inhabitable again.

The Dinobots looked at their leader.

"What do we do now, Grimlock?" Slag asked.

Grimlock crossed his arms and looked over at the gathered survivors, who were all waiting for his reply. Even though they were anxious to see Optimus Prime again, Grimlock was the one who looked after them for all these cycles.

"Everyone, make your way to Iacon," Grimlock turned to his men. "Dinobots, you'll lead the way. Keep your optics open for any Insecticons or Forged."

The Autobots all smiled but Sludge noticed something funny about Grimlock's orders. "Aren't you coming, Grimlock?"

Grimlock shook his head. "I'll join you later." And he said no more. The Dinobots had a feeling they knew what was bothering their leader. He wasn't as anxious to see Optimus as everyone else was.

"Alright, everyone," Slag said. "Let's move out! Stick together and stay on guard. We don't want to get careless now."

With that, the Dinobots transformed into their alt-modes. Unlike most Transformers who had vehicle alt-modes, Grimlock's team had beast modes. Slag transformed into a four legged, three horned creature. Sludge transformed into a large, four legged, long-necked beast, Snarl transformed into another four-legged one with plates running down his back and spikes on his tail, and Swoop transformed into his bird-like form. The other Autobots transformed into their vehicle alt-modes.

"Alright, Autobots!" Slag called to the masses. "Let's go!"

One by one, the Autobots started making their way to Iacon. Grimlock watched the last of them leave before turning around.

"Optimus…" He growled, clenching his arms tightly.

* * *

Optimus gazed around the ruins in Iacon in sorrow. So much death and destruction had taken place here. So many bad memories. Hopefully in time, they would be able to replace those with new, better memories.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Optimus turned to see Ultra Magnus approaching him.

"This place was once a glorious city," Ultra Magnus voiced his leader's thoughts. "It can be so again."

"I know, old friend," Optimus said softly.

"Uh, Optimus!" Bulkhead called. "You're not gonna believe what's coming our way!"

Curious, Optimus went over to Bulkhead, noticing that he and the other members of Team Prime were staring at something in the distance. Optimus turned his head and his optics widened. Approaching there were several vehicles. Other Cybertronians? Already? But that wasn't what got Optimus' attention. There were four strange beasts accompanying them. They were obviously Cybertronian but none like anything Team Prime had seen before. Except maybe…

"Predacons!" Smokescreen cried, readying his weapons. One by one the other members of Team Prime followed his actions. Despite the fact that the four beasts were among a group of Autobots, their appearance lead the team to jump to conclusions.

"Hold your fire!" Ultra Magnus barked at them. "They're allies!"

The others all stared at Ultra Magnus.

"Allies?" Arcee asked him. "You know them?"

Ultra Magnus nodded. "You all do, even if you don't recognize them in their new modes. But once they transform, it will all be explained.

The rest of Team Prime was uneasy hearing this but Optimus gave Magnus the benefit of a doubt. Unlike the rest of Team Prime, he found it odd for Predacons to be with Autobots and not attack them. Therefore he had not readied his weapons like the others had. Strange, though. Optimus did not recall any Autobot beast-formers aside from some of Blaster's deployers and the warrior Sky-Lynx. Who were these bots?

As the strange group got close enough, the vehicles transformed into Autobots and gazed up at Optimus in awe. Not only were they amazed to see their leader after so long, they noticed that he had a brand new body.

"It's you," One Autobot said weakly. "After all this time, you've finally returned to us."

Optimus felt the guilt wracking him. How could he not know these Autobots were still on Cybertron? Had they been here ever since the Exodus?

"I have returned, fellow Autobots," He said solemnly.

Another Autobot got down on his knees. "You're the one who brought Cybertron back online, weren't you?" He bowed. "Thank you, Optimus Prime."

Optimus went over to the bowing Autobot. "Arise, soldier. It was not by me alone." True, Optimus had to give credit to both Ratchet, who chose to stay on Earth, and the Decepticons as it had been their plan to begin with. Still, the fact that he had left behind any Autobot, let alone so many, ate at his spark. He couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for them.

Ultra Magnus on the other hand was focusing on the four beast-formers who were standing off to the side. "It's good to see you again."

The three-horned one snorted. "And we thought you didn't like us, Magnus."

Optimus froze when he heard the creature speak. Why did his voice sound so familiar?

Arcee frowned at the four. She couldn't put her servo on it but she thought she had seen these types of creatures before. But where?

"Who exactly are you?" She asked. While these beast-formers hadn't done anything hostile, she was ready to take action if necessary.

The four beast-formers looked at her now. The flying one was giving her a look that made her feel like a meal on display. The three-horned one shamelessly looked her up and down. Just as she was about to give him a scathing remark, he nodded in approval before speaking to the flying one. "Not bad. You've got good taste, Swoop."

Arcee scowled. "I'm flattered." She said dryly. "Now tell me, who are…" She paused when she heard the name of the flying one. "Did you just say 'Swoop'?"

The four beast-formers gave her what she assumed to be grins as they started to transform. Their bodies shifted, split, and folded until four tough looking robots stood before them all to see. Optimus' optics widened yet again as he recognized them.

"Swoop? Sludge? Snarl? Slag?"

"Yep," Swoop leaned against a piece of rubble with a smirk. "Ya miss us, Optimus?"

"I don't believe it," Bulkhead muttered. All of Team Prime knew who the four bots in front of them were. They had a feeling if Ratchet was here, he'd be saying "By the All-Spark".

"Whoa," Smokescreen gawked at them. "The Lightning Strike Coalition Force? You guys are Autobot legends!"

Snarl chuckled. "We don't go by that name anymore. We're the Dinobots now. For obvious reasons."

That's where Arcee, as well as Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Optimus, recognized their beast modes. Raf had once done a report on the extinct Earth creatures called dinosaurs at the old base. She wasn't sure what the specific dinosaurs were called but she remembered being shown several images of them. But, how did the Dinobots gain dino-modes? And for what reason?

_Though_, she thought to herself, _the name's an improvement_.

"Have you been on Cybertron all this time?" Bumblebee asked in amazement. He had always assumed the Light…the Dinobots were destroyed during the last days of the war.

Sludge nodded. "We stayed behind to keep Shockwave from completely taking over the place."

Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Smokescreen all shared a confused look. Shockwave had been on Earth ever since the destruction of Jasper. But…had he been fighting with the Dinobots until then? Did the Dinobots know he was no longer on Cybertron?

Optimus went over to the four. "Dinobots…where is Grimlock?"

"He's the one who's been leading us since you left," One Autobot spoke up, drawing everyone's attention onto him.

"Grimlock?" Optimus asked in surprise.

"He was a tough but fair ruler," Another Autobot added. "It wasn't easy for him, we all could see that. But he did the best he could for us to get by."

Optimus was amazed at hearing this. He knew Grimlock had the potential to be a great Autobot leader but his anger and arrogance convinced Optimus he wasn't quite ready. To hear that Grimlock had been ruling over the remaining Autobots, and kept them alive, for so long was astounding.

"Where is he?" he asked a second time. Things had ended rather sour during their last encounter. Optimus hoped to see Grimlock again.

The Dinobots shifted nervously. "I…don't think he wants to see you, Optimus." Sludge said hesitantly.

Optimus lowered his head. Even after so long, Grimlock was still upset with him.

Smokescreen turned to Optimus. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Grimlock…was not pleased with leaving Cybertron," Optimus explained. He still remembered the last conversation they had.

"_You're alive! We feared the worst. Are you alright?"_

"_Shockwave's opening a Space Bridge to another world-rich with energy."_

"_We cannot allow Megatron to plunder another world the way he has Cybertron."_

"_For once-we agree._

"_Return to base. We will face this together."_

"_You're weak, Optimus. You run when you should fight! I'm taking the Space Bridge down!"_

"_Grimlock! Wai…"_

"It seems he has not forgiven me." Optimus said sadly.

All present, with the exception of the stoic Ultra Magnus, winced. Everyone knew that Grimlock and Optimus had issues with each other.

"But that was eons ago," Arcee argued. "Grimlock couldn't possibly hold a grudge for that long."

"Uh…" The other Dinobots said in unison. "Yeah, he can!"

Arcee was stunned and opened her mouth to argue but paused. She knew it wasn't impossible. She held a grudge against Airachnid ever since she killed Tailgate. And considering this was _Grimlock _they were talking about, she really shouldn't have been surprised.

Finally Optimus raised his head. "Grimlock will come in his own time. But…" He looked at the other Dinobots. "Let him know that if he ever wishes to talk, I will listen."

The Dinobots all nodded.

"Aside from that," Wheeljack interrupted. "What's with the new modes?"

"And what exactly happened to you?" Arcee threw in. "Last anyone heard of you was you guarding the Ark before mysteriously disappearing. Everyone assumed you all were dead."

The Dinobots exchanged a brief glance with each other.

"Long story…" Snarl replied simply.

Ultra Magnus stepped forward. "There's time. And Optimus needs to be brought up to speed."

Wheeljack turned to the Autobot warrior. "You mean you knew about this? Why didn't you ever tell us back on Earth?"

"Because it was not my place to say," Ultra Magnus answered. "I respected the Dinobots' privacy. If they wish to tell it now, they can."

The Dinobots looked at each other again.

"Should we?" Snarl asked the others.

Slag shrugged. "Wouldn't make much of a difference now."

"We might as well," Sludge said. "Who wants to start?"

"I'll start," Swoop offered. Team Prime gathered around the Dinobot. Even the Autobots who had lived among the Dinobots were curious of their story. "It all started back before the launch of the Ark." He looked over at Optimus. "You remember how you kept getting onto Grimlock for wasting energon?"

Optimus nodded. That was one of their most recurring arguments during the last days of the war.

"Well, Grimlock noticed the Cons weren't being as tight about their energon as you were. He figured they had something we didn't. We captured a Decepticon and interrogated him. Told us about a tower in the Sea of Rust with unlimited energon."

Optimus remembered that was well. When Grimlock and his team went missing, he had sent Jazz and Cliffjumper looking for them. They wound up at the Sea of Rust and while they did not find the Dinobots, they did find the energon.

"Why was I not notified about this?" He asked.

Slag snorted. "Would you have listened?"

Optimus flinched at that. Tensions between him and Grimlock had been at an all-time high at the time. Sadly, there was a possibility that he might not have listened. Still, the other members of Team Prime glared at Slag for his comment.

"Grimlock sent me to scout ahead and see if there was any truth to what the Con told us," Swoop went on. "I went to the Sea of Rust. Sure enough, there was loads of energon there. I wouldn't say unlimited but definitely a lot. Unfortunately, the place was a base used by Shockwave. And he made some new friends. The Insecticons. They got me, but not before I managed to send a transmission to Grimlock."

Slag took up the story now. "Once Grimlock got the transmission, we took a ship and went for Swoop. We found him…and the Insecticons."

"There were thousands of them, maybe more," Sludge said grimly as he recalled that dark moment. "We fought them the best we could, but there was just too many, even for us."

Snarl decided to pick up next. "The Insecticons brought us to Shockwave… and he decided to make us his new science project."

The Autobots, both Team Prime and the ones who stayed on Cybertron, stared at the four Dinobots.

"You mean…?" Arcee started to ask.

Swoop nodded grimly. "It's thanks to Shockwave that we got these new forms."

All the gathered Autobots looked at the Dinobots sympathetically. No one deserved to suffer Shockwave's cruelty.

"Whoa," Wheeljack said, finding himself rather hooked on the story. "So what happened?"

"Grimlock managed to escape and came looking for us," Slag explained. "He rescued Swoop, I busted out on my own, caught up with them, and then we rescued Snarl from Sharpshot's "extensive testing"."

Snarl growled, remembering that moment well.

"What about Sludge?" Bumblebee asked.

Said Dinobot flinched as his teammates all looked at him sympathetically. Sludge rubbed one arm. "I…I don't want to talk about it right now."

The Dinobots remembered it well. To their knowledge at the time, Sludge had never made it out of the caves from the Sea of Rust, assuming him deceased. By sheer chance, they discovered his stasis locked body during an energon search. Much to their surprise, Sludge already had his new alt-mode. Had Shockwave experimented on him first and then just _dumped _him? The Dinobots didn't know but all that mattered to them was that they were all together again. Still, it wasn't something Sludge felt like sharing.

Optimus reached out and put a servo on Sludge's servo in comfort. "If you do not wish to talk about it, then you don't have to."

Sludge nodded in gratitude at Optimus' words. While none of the Autobots could guess even close to what happened, they figured that had to be have been something nasty and therefore respected Sludge's privacy.

"Well, we found Shockwave's lab and learned about he had done to us. Turned out he had been using Space Bridge technology to study a planet. It was rich with energy and filled with organic life forms," Slag went on. "Apparently Shockwave was impressed by these large, reptilian organics and used them as the template for our new alt-modes."

"That doesn't make any sense though," Arcee interrupted. "Why would he choose you instead of fellow Decepticons?"

"According to Grimlock, Shockwave chose us because our own strength, combined with the power from our new forms, would make us the ultimate beasts," Snarl told her. "Shockwave didn't want warriors. He wanted **pets.****"**

Arcee regretted even asking and felt a new-found disgust for the Decepticon scientist. Just when she thought he couldn't sink any lower, this happened.

"We also learned about the Decepticons' plans on invading that world," Swoop said. :Shortly after we figured this out, Shockwave activated the Space Bridge. When we saw it, we contacted you."

Optimus nodded again. That was when he and Grimlock had their last conversation.

"Well, after that, Grimlock got to the Space Bridge with a little help from Swoop." Slag left out the part where Grimlock had gotten flung out the observation deck of Shockwave's lab. "He destroyed the tower alright, but wound up getting buried in the rubble. After we managed to dig him out, he told us Megatron left Shockwave in charge of Cybertron while he was away."

"That doesn't surprise me," Arcee said grimly.

"I was with them, overseeing some late evacuations of the planet," Ultra Magnus decided to step in. "Shockwave had gathered new forces in his spare time, calling themselves the Forged."

"The Forged?" Bulkhead asked.

Ultra Magnus was silent for a moment before adding something." Predaking and the experiments we encountered on Earth…were not Shockwave's only research on Predacons."

Team Prime stared at Ultra Magnus.

"Predacons?" Smokescreen asked. "Here?"

"You've been dealing with those creeps too?" Swoop asked.

"Plenty of them," Bulkhead grimaced.

"Not true Predacons," Ultra Magnus said. "Rather they were Decepticons who Shockwave experimented on with Predacon CNA. A spliced breed, for lack of a better term."

"If Shockwave had these…Forged here," Arcee said. "The why didn't he bring them with him and Predaking instead of trying to create Predacons on Earth?"

"Shockwave was on Earth?" Snarl asked. He and the other Dinobots were stunned to learn that their arch-enemy wasn't even on Cybertron. How could he have slipped past them?

Sludge cupped his chin. "That might be why he left the Forged here. If he was actually off-world, then without the Forged, we would have taken back Cybertron easily."

"Are there still Forged out there?" Optimus asked.

"Hard to tell," Slag admitted. "Lately, we've all have been focusing more on staying alive rather than killing each other…most of the time."

"There is still the possibility that some remain," Ultra Magnus said. "And with Predaking loose on Cybertron…"

"Predaking?" Snarl asked.

"Shockwave's prize Predacon," Smokescreen answered.

"No kidding?" Swoop asked. "An _actual_ Predacon? Here?"

Bumblebee nodded. "Nasty and dangerous."

Slag groaned. "Grimlock's not gonna like this." He looked up at Optimus. "So…when Ultra Magnus left, we chose to stay behind. And we weren't alone." He indicated the other gathered Autobots. "Turned out there was plenty of bots who either chose to stay as well, had been imprisoned by Shockwave, or were simply forgotten. Grimlock became their leader and tried to rule them the best he could. Trust me, it wasn't easy."

"I can imagine," Optimus said, knowing how difficult it was.

"No, you don't," Sludge interjected. "Shockwave…he really messed Grimlock up."

Optimus looked over at the large warrior. "What do you mean?"

Swoop scratched the back of his head. "Shockwave…he experimented further on Grimlock. The big guy's way stronger than before…but he's gotten a whole lot angrier."

Well that was a downer to Team Prime. Grimlock's temper was always a major issue. To hear it became worse was not encouraging.

"Unlike us," Snarl said. "Grimlock was online when Shockwave experimented on him. He remembers _everything_ about it."

Optimus felt his spark sank. He could not even imagine what torment Grimlock must have gone through. At least his team had the mercy of not remembering. He understood now why Grimlock was angrier.

"And he gets a little out of control when he goes dino-mode," Swoop threw in. "Once he gets going, it's really hard to calm him down."

"Aside from trying to keep everyone alive, Grimlock had to deal with his own demons," Sludge told them. "More often than not, he came close to losing control. We were all afraid of the moment that would finally happen."

"And then suddenly, we find Cybertron is restored right out of the blue," Swoop said. "Grimlock sent me to see if I could find anything useful. I spotted you guys heading towards Iacon, reported back, and Grimlock sent us all to you."

The gathered Autobots did not reply right away after hearing the story of the Dinobots. The fact that they had managed to keep themselves and others alive was astounding. Optimus couldn't help but feel proud of Grimlock and hoped they would have the opportunity to talk with each other.

"So…what happened to you?" Swoop asked Team Prime. "And how did you get Cybertron back online?"

Team Prime began telling the Dinobots about their own adventures on Earth. Their friendship with the locals, battles against the Decepticons, MECH, Unicron! When Optimus finally wrapped up their story, it was the Dinobots' turn to be left in awe.

"Megatron is really dead?" Sludge asked in disbelief.

"Should be after what I did," Bumblebee said, remembering how he ran Megatron through with the Star Saber.

"Good on ya, Bumblebee," Swoop playfully punched Bumblebee in the shoulder, unintentionally knocking him to the ground. "Err…sorry."

"Heh," Slag chuckled before looking over at Optimus. "Always thought you'd be the one to snuff ole' Buckethead."

Optimus chose to ignore that and bring up important matters. "Even though Megatron is gone, the Decepticons are not without leadership. "Starscream and Shockwave are still out there."

The Dinobots growled at hearing Shockwave's name. And they weren't really thrilled about Starscream either.

"If they ever show their faces around here, we'll be ready for them," Slag said, punching his open palm.

"Dinobots…your assistance in rebuilding Cybertron would be greatly appreciated." Optimus told them. "Will you help us?"

The Dinobots looked at each other and as if reading each other's thoughts, they nodded.

"We'll help," Snarl said. "Cybertron is our home too after all."

Optimus smiled. "Thank you, Dinobots."

"Our first objective is to repair the communications system," Ultra Magnus said. "Snarl, your engineering skills will be highly valued there."

Snarl nodded. "I'm on it."

Ultra Magnus looked at the other Autobots. "Any of you are good with technology help him. We need the communications up and running and then we'll proceed restoration from there."

"What about the rest of us?" Sludge asked.

"There may be other survivors scattered throughout Cybertron," Ultra Magnus told. "Not to mention any of the Forged. We need to find them."

"We know several places where Autobots took refuge in," Swoop said. "We can show you."

"That is an excellent suggestion," Optimus said. "Perhaps it would be best if you were to split up and cover more ground."

"Wreckers, you're with me," Ultra Magnus said to Bulkhead and Wheeljack. "We'll look for the Forged."

"Snarl," Optimus said to the engineer. "You'll accompany me to set up the communications."

"Can I go with her?" Swoop pointed at Arcee, taking the femme by surprise. She still remembered the way Swoop was looking at her earlier. She gave Optimus a pleading look, hoping he would get the message.

Although surprised by Swoop's request, Optimus allowed it. He believed that having his team work together with the Dinobots would be beneficial to both sides. "Very well. Arcee, you'll go with Swoop."

Arcee stared at Optimus wide-eyed and open mouthed while Swoop smiled wildly. The other Dinobots groaned at their flyer's antics.

"His spark's running away with his head," Slag whispered to Sludge. "You better go with him to make sure he doesn't do something stupid."

Sludge nodded to Slag before speaking up. "I'll come along too."

Optimus nodded. "Very well."

"Guess that means me and Bee are going with Slag?" Smokescreen asked.

Slag chuckled. "Sure you can handle it, rookie?"

Smokescreen grinned. "Oh, you bet I can!"

Slag nodded his head. "Alright, rookie. We'll see what you can do."

And so, the groups all split off. Optimus, Snarl, and the Autobots that served under Grimlock headed for Iacon. Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, and Bulkhead went off in one direction looking for survivors, Slag, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen went off in another direction, and Arcee, Sludge, and Swoop went off in a completely different direction.

As for Grimlock? After much internal debating, he finally decided to make his way to Iacon.

"Optimus," Grimlock said to himself as he marched onward. "It's time you and I had a chat."

**End of Chapter**

**Well, guys. I know there wasn't a whole lot of exciting things going on right now but I do intend to follow through. Will Grimlock and Optimus reconcile? Can Swoop impress Arcee without getting shot at? Will the Dinobots ever go to Earth? And what is the fate of Predaking, Starscream, and Shockwave? Find out on Transformers Prime: Dawn of the Dinobots.**

**I do want to point out some key differences between Fall of Cybertron Dinobots and how they are normally portrayed (So nobody accuses me of making them OOC.)**

**1. While Grimlock is still an anti-hero, his heroic qualities are shown more. His own toy bio describes him as a bully hater. And he's not too proud to admit when he's wrong. But it usually takes his own teammates to get him to see it.**

**2. Swoop is like the Dinobots' kid brother. He's a bit of a chatter-box in FOC and while he means well, he can unintentionally get on people's nerves, mainly Grimlock's.**

**3. Sludge is a lot smarter in FOC than most of his counterparts. He also seems to be the group's morality chain and willing to defy Grimlock if he thinks his leader is wrong about something.**

**And for those of you following my Bleach/Ben 10 crossovers, I'll soon be posting the first chapter of Bleach: Omniverse Volume II. See you then!**


	2. Clash Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime.**

**Special thanks to Kamen Rider Chrome and SpartanCommander**

**Clash Reunion**

Arcee manage to fight a groan. Ever since she, Sludge, and Swoop had left Iacon, the Dinobot flyer wouldn't keep quiet.

"So you're Arcee," Swoop said. Right now he was in his dino mode and hovering over Arcee and Sludge. "I remember hearing stories about you. You'd fit in with our team just fine. Glad to finally meet you in person. This is gonna be great!"

Arcee rolled her optics. Seriously, how could such a cheerful mech like Swoop be on the same team as _Grimlock_?

If Sludge wasn't in his own dino mode, he would've smack his forehead at his teammate's antics. "Sorry about Swoop," He apologized to Arcee. "He gets carried away when he's excited."

"Does he?" Arcee asked with a deadpan expression. "I hadn't noticed."

Sludge chuckled at that. "So…where are we going?"

"The Nemesis," Arcee replied. "Picking up a Decepticon prisoner."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Swoop flew in front of her, causing the femme to take a step back. "You left a Decepticon…on Megatron's flagship…unguarded?!"

"We left him in the brig and made sure he couldn't escape," Arcee told him. "Besides, this is Knock Out we're talking about. He has his moments but he's the least threatening of Megatron's forces. He's probably complaining about some dust on his finish more than trying to make an escape."

"Sheesh," Swoop laughed. "And I thought Sunstreaker was bad."

The walk to the Nemesis was a long one. Arcee knew she could have gotten there faster in her alt-mode, and Swoop looked like he could keep up with her, but then they would have left Sludge behind. The big bot's alt-mode wasn't built for speed.

"So, Arcee," Sludge said, something having been on his mind since hearing Team Prime's story. "Tell us more about Earth. What's it like?"

Arcee raised a brow. "Why the sudden interest?"

Sludge shrugged. "Just curious about the planet Shockwave is so obsessed with."

"Well," Arcee began. "It's nothing like Cybertron, that's for sure. There's metal but the planet's mostly covered in rocks, plant life, water..."

"It sounds so...weird," Swoop said. "Not bad, just weird. What about the lifeforms there? Like the creatures Shockwave based us after?"

"Dinosaurs?" Arcee shrugged now. "I don't know much about them. Apparently they're the Earth's equivalent to Predacons. Mighty beasts that used to roam the Earth before mysteriously dying out." Arcee chuckled as she remembered Miko, after the Predacons were compared to dinosaurs, asked what Dinobots were like. If only she could see the actual Dinobots in person.

"Hey, Arcee," Sludge said, noticing the look of nostalgia and sadness on Arcee's face. "You okay?"

Arcee shook her head. They hadn't been gone from Earth long and already she was missing her human friends. "I'm fine. Just remembering something Miko said."

"Miko?" Swoop asked before realization dawned on him. "Oh, one of the humans you told us about."

"Tell us more about these humans," Sludge said. "What are they like?"

Arcee tapped her chin, wondering where to begin. "Well, no offense to them but they're pretty primitive and weak compared to us. However they make up for it with lots of determination and courage. Our human allies were vital in a lot of our victories."

"Didn't you get partnered up with one of them?" Swoop asked. "What was his name? Jack?"

Arcee nodded as she smiled fondly. "That's right."

"How'd they find out about you anyway?" Swoop wondered. Team Prime had only told them the overview of their adventures on Earth, not the fine details.

Arcee froze when Swoop asked that. Team Prime had met their human allies shortly after Cliffjumper's death. Sighing, she began to tell her story.

"Well, it all started one Earth day..." Arcee began.

* * *

Meanwhile, Smokescreen and Bumblebee were driving through the abandoned roads of Cybertron with Slag running alongside them. Slag was pretty fast but the other two were going at a slower pace so that he could keep up.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Smokescreen asked.

"To our base," Slag replied. "Iacon was too devastated so we had to find shelter elsewhere."

"Why are we heading there?" Bumblebee asked.

"You think those bots we left at Iacon were the only ones who remained?" Slag asked before laughing dryly. "Those were just the scouting parties!"

Smokescreen and Bumblebee's jaws would have dropped if they were in robot mode. So many Autobots and they were all just scouts?!

"There's more?" Smokescreen asked.

"You don't know the half of it," Slag said.

"How is it that so many Autobots are still here?" Bumblebee asked.

"Who knows," Slag said nonchalantly. "Might've been Decepticon prisoners, might've been too stubborn to leave, or maybe Optimus just didn't bother doing a head-count."

Bumblebee and Smokescreen would have scowled if they could have. But they tried to let it slide. Slag was obviously sore about being left on Cybetron after all this time. Right now they decided to focus on gathering the remaining Autobots.

* * *

But they weren't the only ones who were wondering the same thing Smokescreen and Bumblebee were.

"You knew these Autobots were still here, didn't you?" Wheeljack demanded as he and Bulkhead were speeding down with Ultra Magnus.

"I wasn't aware of how many Autobots were left on Cybertron," Ultra Magnus admitted. "But yes."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Bulkhead asked.

"Grimlock wanted me to leave while he kept Cybertron out of Shockwave's hands," Ultra Magnus explained.

"Oh, so that's it?" Wheeljack scoffed. "You decided to just let Grimlock handle it just because he said so? You didn't think to at least tell Optimus about this? I'm sure he would have appreciated knowing that plenty of Autobots, including one of his strongest fighters, were still on Cybertron and might need help!"

Ultra Magnus said nothing as they continued driving.

"At least Grimlock still had the bearings to stay behind," Wheeljack continued. "But you? You chose to come running to Earth and hide behind Optimus like a coward! What? Were you hoping being Optimus' little suck-up would make up for all the Autobots you left behind?"

"Jackie!" Bulkhead barked at him. While he wasn't happy with his former commander, Wheeljack was going too far.

And all this time, Ultra Magnus didn't say a thing to Wheeljack's accusations. Maybe...because part of him wondered if the Wrecker might have been right.

* * *

Sludge and Swoop were absorbed by the stories Arcee told them about her personal adventures with the humans. While the two were amazed by how primitive the humans really were, the Dinobots were impressed with how resourceful and unpredictable they could be. Soon they reached the Nemesis. With the war over and Megatron dead, Arcee wondered what they should do with it. Scrap it? Strip it of its resources? She'd have to ask Optimus when they got back to Iacon.

"So this is the Nemesis," Swoop looked the Decepticon flagship up and down. "Suits Megatron alright. Big, dark, and ugly."

"Thing's probably got some pretty impressive firepower," Sludge said. "How did we not notice the Cons create something like this?"

Arcee started walking up the gangplank to the ship. Sludge and Swoop transformed into their robot modes and started following her. Once inside, the two looked around, wondering what kind of secrets the battleship held. With no wonders left for her to see, Arcee led them to the brig.

"Well it's about time somebody showed up," Knock Out whined from his cell when he saw Arcee enter. "I was beginning to think you all decided to abandon me. And these cuffs are digging into my servos!"

With a roll of her optics, Arcee went over to Knock Out's cell, unlocked it, and then quickly grabbed the medic and yanked him out the door.

"Ow! Ow! Careful on the finish!" Knock Out cried.

Arcee noticed marks on Knock Out's fingers. Miniature scratches. She looked at him. "Tried picking the lock on your cell?"

Knock Out chuckled sheepishly. "Can't blame a mech for trying. But do you have any idea how nasty those locks dig into you?

Arcee groaned. She met femmes less concerned about their appearances than this mech. "Look," She said, getting right in Knock Out's face. "I don't like you, you don't like me. But Optimus wants me to bring you to Iacon but he didn't say what state you had to be in. But as long as you behave, we won't have any problems."

"But," Swoop said from outside the hallway. "If you do want to cause problems, me and Sludge here will be happy to oblige."

Knock Out's optics widened when he looked outside and spotted who Arcee was with. "You two. I remember you. You're part of Grimlock's team." He looked around nervously. "He's...not around is he?"

"The boss ain't here..." Swoop said.

"But we're more than enough for you," Sludge grinned. The two Dinobots raised their fists for emphasis.

Knock Out softly whimpered. He knew the stories of the Lightning Strike Coalition Force. Get on their bad side and he would be more than just dented up. "I'll be good."

Amused at the way Knock Out was acting, Arcee smiled at the Dinobots. "I'm gonna enjoy having you two around." She started leading Knock Out towards the exit of the ship, Swoop watching her closely. Sludge groaned. "Snap out of it, Swoop."

The flyers shook his head, looking around in a daze. "Huh? What?"

"Could you be more obvious?" Sludge asked his teammate.

"What? A smoking hot femme like that and you expect me not to notice?" Swoop asked.

"The problem is you're making an idiot of yourself," Sludge shot back.

"Well excuse me for being lonely after so many mega-cycles," Swoop snapped, crossing his arms.

Sludge sighed. Arguing wasn't going to get them anywhere. "Look, Swoop. Just take it slow, okay. Get to know her first. Use some class."

Swoop made a face at his fellow Dinobot. "Since when were you the expert on femmes?"

Sludge just grinned at him before heading after Arcee and Knock Out.

"Hey!" Swoop called before running after Sludge. "Come on! Tell me!"

* * *

"We'll have to travel on foot again," Arcee said when the Dinobots exited the Nemesis. "We can't afford having Knock Out run off."

"Eh, even if he tried to pull a fast one, I'll be ready for him!" Swoop transformed back into his dino mode, flapping his metallic wings. "Just try and get away from me."

Knock Out saw Swoop in his new mode and groaned. "Oh, great. You've turned yourselves into Predacons."

"Excuse me?" Squawked an insulted Swoop. "We ain't Predacons. We're Dinobots!"

"Whatever," Knock Out muttered.

"Get going Knock Out," Arcee barked at the Decepticon medic. "And if you don't step in line," She gave him an evil smirk. "I'll scratch that paint job of yours."

Knock Out looked at her like death itself and started walking. She gave the Dinobots a playful smile before following after the Decepticon. Sludge transformed back into his dinosaur mode and followed after Arcee with Swoop soaring above them.

It was so strange, Arcee thought to herself. The Dinobots were a lot different than what she heard about. Maybe...there was more to them than met the eye.

* * *

Back at Iacon, Snarl and every Autobot that had at least some repairing skill were at work. While Snarl and his main helpers were working on the city's repair systems, others were sent to see what else they could patch up.

"How are the repairs coming, Snarl?" Optimus, who was standing by, asked.

"Not good," Snarl admitted. "At this rate, we'll be lucky if I can get the systems up to 25%."

Optimus nodded. "When Slag and the others return with more help, I'll station some of them to your team."

"Appreciate it," Snarl said, getting back to work.

Knowing that he probably wouldn't be much help, Optimus left them to Snarl and his team to their job and walked outside. His optics gazed over all the Autobots who were hard at work. At least they were making a start.

Optimus' attention was drawn to sudden gasps among the Autobots. He noticed that they were stopping their work and staring off in the distance. Optimus turned to see what they were looking at. A figure was making its way toward them. Optimus could easily make out who the figure was.

"Grimlock," He said quietly.

Snarl, who had come to ask Optimus something, saw the same thing. "Well, the boss finally showed up." When he saw Optimus walking to Grimlock, he quickly grabbed the Prime's arm. "Hold it, Optimus. I don't think that's such a good idea."

Optimus gently took Snarl's servo off his arm."It has to be done. Grimlock and I have much to talk about."

Snarl shrugged. "Alright." Optimus started walking off again when Snarl quietly added. "Your funeral."

All working started to cease as all gathered spotted Optimus and Grimlock making their way towards each other. Some exchanged worried looks while others wondered if they might need to find some cover. None knew how this was going to turn out.

Optimus readied himself as Grimlock got closer. This was going to happen sooner or later and he preferred it to be sooner. With a heavy spark, Optimus stopped. Once Grimlock was within a few feet of Optimus, he stopped as well.

"Hello, Grimlock," Optimus said.

"Optimus," Grimlock replied. He studied Optimus' frame. "Got an upgrade." Grimlock also noticed how taller Optimus had gotten. While Grimlock was still the taller of the two, Optimus came pretty close to his height now.

"Much has changed since we last saw each other," Optimus said.

"I know," Grimlock growled, trying to control himself.

Optimus reached a servo out to Grimlock "The others told me what Shockwave had done to you. Grimlock, I'm sorry..."

"Don't want your pity!" Grimlock yelled, batting Optimus' arm away.

"Grimlock," Optimus pleaded. "You've been through so much. Your spark is filled with pain and anger. Let me help you."

"Help?" Grimlock gave a humorless chuckle. "That's rich. You ran away and left us to fend for ourselves!"

Optimus frowned at Grimlock's words. "Grimlock, I..."

"Save it," Grimlock barked. "I don't want to hear your excuses."

Optimus sighed. They weren't getting anywhere. "Grimlock, please listen to me. I'm sorry. Let us work together to rebuild Cybertron."

Grimlock said nothing, merely crossing his arms as if contemplating this. Finally he asked. "Where is the rest of your team?"

"Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack are looking for any of the Forged," Optimus said. "Sludge and Swoop went with Arcee to retrieve our prisoner, Knock Out. Slag is leading Smokescreen and Bumblebee to where you and your team have been staying at."

Grimlock once again said nothing, as if waiting for something. After a moment. "And...?" He asked.

Optimus was confused. "And...what?"

"Where's the rest of your team?" Grimlock asked.

Optimus blinked. "That...is all of my team."

Grimlock froze. "What?"

"When Cybertron went dark, the Autobot masses scattered across the stars," Optimus explained.

"But what about all the Autobots that were in the Ark?" Grimlock questioned.

"They spread out as well." Optimus replied.

Grimlock started shaking and his fists tightened again. "You...you slaggin glitch!" Before Optimus could do anything, Grimlock struck him across the face. The blow knocked Optimus off his feet and sent him sprawling. "It's not enough you abandon us, but you scatter your entire army too?!"

"Grimlock!" Snarl called as he raced to the scene. He feared an encounter between the two would come to blows and knew he had to intervene.

"Get up," Grimlock demanded of Optimus, who was a bit dazed by the sudden attack. "You've had this coming for a long time."

"Grimlock, stop!" Snarl shouted.

"No!" Optimus yelled, stopping the Dinobot in his tracks. "Do not interfere."

"What?!" Snarl cried.

Optimus wobbily got back up on his feet before facing Grimlock. "You've been holding in all this rage for too long, Grimlock. All that can be done is to let it all out."

Grimlock was taken aback by this. "You won't run away?" Optimus shook his head.

Impressed, Grimlock pulled out a handle and a long, orange energon blade formed. The spectators feared Grimlock was going to use it against Optimus but instead Grimlock flipped it in his hand and stuck it into the ground. Some were confused but those like Optimus and Snarl knew the message. Grimlock was willing to fight Optimus without weapons. Respecting Grimlock's wishes, Optimus discarded his gatling gun and the Star Saber. With his weapons aside, Optimus assumed a fighting stance.

In a flash, the two combatants charged at each other. Grimlock swung his fist but Optimus dodged and struck him in the chest. The blow temporarily stunned Grimlock, catching him by surprise. But the big bot still managed to strike Optimus with the side of his arm. But Optimus caught himself before he hit the ground. Grimlock raised his foot but Optimus rolled out of the way before getting stomped. Optimus shoulder rammed Grimlock in the back but the Dinobot leader was unfazed.

"What was that?" Grimlock asked mockingly before grabbing Optimus' arm and throwing him.

Optimus soared through the air before skidding along the ground. When he finally stopped, he shook his head to clear his mind. And just in time as Grimlock started charging at him. Before Grimlock could bulldoze him over, Optimus managed to sidestep him and leg sweep him. The move, combined with Grimlock's own momentum caused the titan to fall. Growling in anger, Grimlock picked himself up and swung his fist. Optimus held up his hands to block the blow but was still knocked off his feet by the force, his arms were now badly dented.

"No more playing around!" Grimlock yelled.

"Don't hold back, Grimlock," Optimus told him. "Let it all out."

"Don't be a fool, Prime!" Snarl called. "He'll waste you!"

With a roar, Grimlock charged again. Everyone thought Optimus would attempt to dodge or defend himself. But no...he just stood there.

"What are you doing?!" Snarl yelled at him. "Get out of there!"

But Optimus did not. He stood still as Grimlock got closer.

"Optimus!" One Autobot cried. "Get out of the way!"

"Grimlock, please!" Another pleaded. "Don't do this!"

Grimlock tackled Optimus to the ground and began punching him relentlessly. The other Autobots winced at Grimlock's onslaught but were too frozen with fear to try to intervene. Not even Snarl could think of something to do. Where was Sludge? He was usually the one to calm Grimlock down.

It was Grimlock's moment. He was finally going to put Optimus Prime in his place once and for all. He savored every blow he struck down on the Autobot leader...but as the punches grew on...Grimlock started feeling less pleasure and more confusion. He got what he wanted so why wasn't he happy? Then he finally realized something. Optimus...Optimus wasn't even trying to fight back. He was just taking the blows.

"Why aren't you fighting back?!" Grimlock demanded.

Optimus said nothing, simply gazing back at Grimlock.

"Fight back!" Grimlock yelled, punching Optimus again.

"No," Optimus replied.

"Fight back!" Grimlock hit him again.

"No," Optimus repeated.

Grimlock punched him again. "Fight back, Optimus!"

"No."

Yelling in frustration, Grimlock resumed hitting Optimus over and over again. But nothing. There was no satisfaction in what he was doing. By now Optimus was heavily dented and starting to leak energon. And yet he still looked up at Grimlock calmly. That look alone infuriated Grimlock.

"Are you trying to wear me down?" Grimlock asked in desperation. "I could do this for cycles, Optimus!"

"Then do it," Optimus said softly. "Hit me as many times as you need. I won't stop you."

Grimlock shook in anger. This wasn't what he wanted. "Why?!"

"You have every right to be angry," Optimus said, giving Grimlock a small smile. "Perhaps if I had been willing to give you a chance, to hear what you had to say, then maybe none of this would have happened. I am willing to face the consequences."

Grimlock stood there, looming over Optimus. So that was it. Optimus was just going to let him hit him over and over again, even if Optimus was damaged to the point of no repair. Was the Prime really willing to let Grimlock go that far?

Grimlock growled. "I can't fight someone who won't even fight back." He got up, grabbed Optimus, and hefted him to his feet. "Snarl!"

The Dinobot engineer jumped at suddenly being addressed. "Yeah, Grim?"

"Get Optimus patched up," Grimlock said. "I'm done here."

Snarl nodded and went over to support Optimus. Several of the gathered Autobots ran over to help him. Grimlock turned around.

"Let me know when you want to take me seriously, Prime," Grimlock said as he started walking off.

"Grimlock," Optimus called to the retreating behemoth. "I'm glad you're still alive."

Grimlock froze, slowly turned his head back toward Optimus, then resumed walking away.

"Optimus," Snarl began to apologize. "I'm..."

"No, Snarl," Optimus told him kindly. "As I said, Grimlock had every right to be angry. I just hope he was able to get that anger out of his system."

Snarl scratched his head. "I don't know, Optimus."

"Optimus!"

Everyone turned to see Arcee, Sludge, Swoop, and a cuffed Knock Out staring at them in shock. Arcee and the other two Dinobots ran toward Optimus, while Knock Out noticed that he was completely surrounded by Autobots. "Uh...hello," He smiled weakly.

"What happened?" Arcee asked, seeing the state Optimus was in.

"Grimlock did this," Snarl explained.

"Grimlock!?" Arcee, Sludge, and Swoop exclaimed.

"The boss decided to take his frustrations out on Optimus." Snarl told them.

Swoop cringed. "I knew Grimlock was mad but...I didn't think he would go that far."

"Optimus, we're sorry," Sludge apologized. "If he knew he was going to do this..."

Arcee clenched her jaw fiercely. "Where is Grimlock?"

"Don't," Optimus said, shocking the three.

"What?!" Arcee was baffled. "Why?!"

"How about he tells once he's done leaking energon!" Snarl snapped. "Come on. Let's patch him up first and then he can tell you everything."

Arcee shook with anger. Grimlock had just battered their leader and Optimus was letting him get away with it? Arcee vented as she forced herself to calm down. Optimus must have his reasons and she hoped they were good ones. But for now, she would wait until Optimus was repaired before asking.

"We need to reach the medical center," She said. "Hopefully there's something there we can use."

"If I may," Knock Out said, drawing everyone's attention. "I might be of some assistance. I am a medic after all."

"And why should we trust you?" Arcee challenged.

Knock Out scoffed. "Come now, Arcee. Unlike some of my comrades, I know when I'm beaten. Besides, I'm sure helping your leader will help me into your good graces."

Arcee scowled deeply.

"I'm not willing to trust a Con," Snarl said. "But if you are a medic, then we can use your help. But if you try to pull anything..."

"I won't," Knock Out said solemnly. "Do you really think I'd try to pull something when I'm surrounded by so many Autobots, some of which are the Lightning Strike...err, I mean Dinobots?"

"Don't know," Snarl sneered. "You Cons never are very bright."

Now it was Knock Out's turn to scowl.

"You can come," Snarl said. "But we'll be keeping a close eye on you."

"Count on it," Arcee added.

Knock Out shrugged. "Fair enough. What have I got to lose?"

And so, Snarl, Arcee, Sludge, and Knock Out made their way to the medical center with the wounded Optimus. Sludge helped Snarl support the Prime while Arcee kept close to Knock Out.

"Swoop, find Grimlock," Sludge said to his friend.

"I'm on it!" Swoop transformed into his dino mode and soared into the sky. Sludge looked over at Arcee, who was still fuming.

"I'm sorry, Arcee," He said quietly.

"I'm not mad at you, Sludge," Arcee assured him. "You didn't know. But when I see Grimlock, I'm giving him a piece of my mind."

"I was afraid of that," Sludge muttered. He knew he had to be there in case Arcee pushed Grimlock too far. He just hoped his leader wouldn't lose his cool.

"You should consider yourself lucky Grimlock didn't transform on you," Snarl told Optimus as they reached the medical center. "Nothing can stop him when he's like that. Nothing survives either." He went over to some of the machinery. "Now let me see if I can get any of this stuff working."

Arcee was by her leader's side. "Optimus," She said. "Did you let Grimlock do this to you?"

Optimus nodded.

"Why?" Arcee asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Said Grimlock had every right to be angry at him," Snarl explained as he tinkered with the medical equipment.

"What?!" Arcee looked at him. "But Shockwave's responsible, not Optimus!"

"That's not why Grimlock is angry at me," Optimus told Arcee. "He is upset with me for ordering all the Autobots leave Cybertron, then he blames me for leaving him and all these Autobots behind. When he learned that the Autobots on the Ark all went their separate ways, he was angry at that too."

"Seriously?" Arcee asked in disbelief. "He blames all of that on you? Optimus, he can't hold you responsible for all of that. It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe it is," Optimus countered.

Arcee was saddened and angered by Optimus' guilt. She wanted to say more when she felt a servo on her shoulder. She looked to see it was Snarl.

"Arcee," Snarl said. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. This will take time and I need concentration."

Arcee nodded. As much as she wanted to continue talking to Optimus, she knew better than to get in the way of a medic. Enough times with Ratchet had taught her that. "I understand." She got up to leave. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to see Sludge.

"I'll come with you." He said.

Arcee gave him a small smile, still baffled at how the Dinobots were not the utter brutes she took them for. "Thank you, Sludge." The two left the room, Arcee trying to come up with some way to get her mind off of what had just happened. And to resist the urge to hunt Grimlock down.

"Arcee?" Sludge asked, interrupting her thoughts. "Would you happen to know someone by the name of Firestar?"

Arcee froze. "What? How do you know her?"

"She lives in Last Spark," Sludge said. "Helped us out a couple of times."

"Firestar is here?" Arcee asked. "Can I see her?"

"Sure," Sludge said. "I'll lead the way."

Arcee was unable to contain her excitement and managed to push her anger at Grimlock to the side for the moment. Firestar was here of all places and she never even knew it. Arcee couldn't wait to see her again.

* * *

Grimlock was left alone with his thoughts as he wandered through the streets of Iacon. Optimus' actions and words still playing in his head.

"Grimlock!"

Grimlock looked up to see Swoop flying towards him. The flyer transformed and landed right beside his leader.

"Hello, Swoop," Grimlock greeted halfheartedly.

"Grimlock! Did you seriously trash Optimus Prime?!" Swoop demanded.

"He had it coming," Grimlock said, just gazing off in the distance.

Swoop sighed. It was still hard accepting that Grimlock actually went that far. "So...was it worth it?"

Grimlock was silent for a moment. "No," He finally replied. "We fought for a moment but then Optimus just...took it."

Swoop did a double take. "Really?"

"Really," Grimlock said. "Said I could hit him as many times as I needed."

"Whoa," Swoop rubbed his head.

"I thought I could finally put Optimus in his place," Grimlock went on. "But...if he was just going to let me do whatever I wanted, there'd be no point." He slumped down. After all this time, his anger towards Optimus suddenly wasn't as strong as it used to be.

"So..." Swoop said. "What will you do now?"

Grimlock sighed. "I don't know, Swoop. I really don't know."

* * *

Unknown to Grimlock and Swoop, they were being watched. The mighty Predacon known as Predaking had made a roost out of one of Iacon's tallest buildings. He had watched cautiously when the Autobots appeared. Though they had been his enemies, that was before he learned of Megatron's treachery. Should he still consider the Autobots enemies after the Decepticons abandoned him? Did they still consider him one?

But things really got fascinating when Predaking saw the ones who called themselves Dinobots. Autobots that turned into beasts, much like him. And from what Predaking had overheard, they were victims of Shockwave as well. Kindred spirits perhaps?

When the Autobots began repairing the city, Predaking figured he should leave lest he risk being discovered by them. But as he prepared to leave, the one known as Grimlock arrived, he and Optimus talked before the fight came to blows. He was impressed by the Dinobot's ferocity and sheer strength. And yet, the moment he realized that Optimus would not defend himself, he immediately stopped his assault. A being with the viciousness of a beast but the honor of a warrior? Predaking narrowed his optics. He would like to know more about this Grimlock and his Dinobots.

**End of Chapter**

**Sorry for the wait, everyone. My first week of school didn't turn out so well so I had to bust my butt to make sure I did good this time around. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to more.**

**Next chapter: The Autobots continue rebuilding Cybertron, Arcee reunites with someone from her past, and Shockwave reveals to Starscream that the Dinobots and Predaking aren't his only experiments running around on Cybertron.**

**For those of you curious, I am considering working the upcoming Predacon Rising movie into my story. Just hope the movie doesn't throw a wrench into my plans.****  
**

******Let me know what you think in the reviews and feel free to PM me for any questions or suggestions. Take care!**


	3. Author's Note (Do Not Review)

**Author's Note: This story is not dead (Do not review)**

**Hello, everyone. I'm sorry for taking so long to update the latest chapter. A lot of my school assignments were due around the same date, so I had to spend my week dealing with them first. But with one of my classes (Statistics) officially done for the semester, I have more time to work on my stories. This story is still alive and kicking.**

**Having watched the movie Predacons Rising, I have decided that while I may use certain elements from the movie, I don't think I will follow it to the T. The two Predacons from the movie can still be used, the problem is that one of the Predacons is called Skylynx, who was already identified in my story as being an Autobot (referring to the G1 version of Sky Lynx; a friendly but pompous Autobot who transformed from a space shuttle into some kind of dinosaur-like creature.) I will either take that line out entirely or change the Predacon's name to Skystalker instead.**

**When I go to post the official chapter, I will take this author's note down so I highly recommend not reviewing this. But feel free to PM me for any questions or suggestions.**


End file.
